Should the U.S. Legalize Marijuana?

• “Yes”

  

  “It’s the Economy, Stupid!”

• “Objection”

  

  “If It Were Only So Easy”
  

It’s the Economy, Stupid!

National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws

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Recommend (29) Comments (4)

With marijuana prohibition costing the U.S. government billions of valuable tax dollars annually. The societal costs of propagandizing against marijuana and marijuana law reform, funding anti-marijuana 'science', interdicting marijuana, eradicating domestically grown marijuana and industrial hemp, law enforcement, prosecuting and incarcerating marijuana smokers costs U.S. taxpayers in excess of $12 billion annually. Marijuana legalization offers an important advantage over decriminalization in that it allows for legal distribution and taxation of cannabis. In the absence of taxation, the free market price of legal marijuana would be extremely low, on the order of five to ten cents per joint. In terms of intoxicating potential, a joint is equivalent to at least $1 or $2 worth of alcohol, the price at which cannabis is currently sold in the Netherlands. The easiest way to hold the price at this level under legalization would be by an excise tax on commercial sales. An examination of the external costs imposed by cannabis users on the rest of society suggests that a "harmfulness tax" of $.50 - $1 per joint is appropriate. It can be estimated that excise taxes in this range would raise between $2.2 and $6.4 billion per year. Altogether, legalization would save the taxpayers around $8 - $16 billion, not counting the economic benefits of hemp agriculture and other spinoff industries.

Evidence

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Economics of Cannabis Legalization

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Economic Reports

Next Argument

"Yes" NORML

• Remember Prohibition? It Still Doesn’t Work.
  40
• Humanity’s Medicine Chest
  27
• It’s the Economy, Stupid!
  29
• Industrial Use
  27

"No" Dr Kevin Sabet

• It is a Myth That 'Everybody is Doing It.'
  5
• Where Legalization Has Flourished, Drug Use Has Increased
  5
• Experts Agree That Marijuana Contributes to Mental Illness
  3
• Marijuana Use Can Be Addictive, While Also Damaging the Lungs
  2
• It is a Myth That Small Time Marijuana Users are Crowding our Prisons
  3
• Legalization Advocates Never Answer The Hard Questions
  4
• There are Ways To Make Current Policy Better
  1

"No" David Evans

• Marijuana Use Poses Severe Health Risks
  1
• Marijuana is Addictive
  0
• Use of Marijuana Leads to Other Drugs
  0
• Marijuana Use Contributes to Crime
  0

Most Objections

• Marijuana Use Poses Severe Health Risks
  1
• Marijuana is Addictive
  0
• Use of Marijuana Leads to Other Drugs
  0
• Marijuana Use Contributes to Crime
  0
• Remember Prohibition? It Still Doesn’t Work.
  40
• Humanity’s Medicine Chest
  27
• It’s the Economy, Stupid!
  29
• Industrial Use
  27
• It is a Myth That 'Everybody is Doing It.'
  5
• It is a Myth That Small Time Marijuana Users are Crowding our Prisons
  3
• Marijuana Use Can Be Addictive, While Also Damaging the Lungs
  2
• Experts Agree That Marijuana Contributes to Mental Illness
  3
• Where Legalization Has Flourished, Drug Use Has Increased
  5
• Legalization Advocates Never Answer The Hard Questions
  4
• There are Ways To Make Current Policy Better
  1

Legalize Marijuana?

• Yes
• No

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